Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease is a very common symptom serving as the basis for 22% of primary care visits. Current estimates are that 14% of Americans suffer from Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease on at least a weekly basis. The demographics of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease have increased markedly over the past years as fueled by factors of poor diet, increasing body mass index (BMI), and sedentary lifestyle.
Under the Montreal definition, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease is defined as “a condition which develops when the reflux of the stomach contents causes troublesome symptoms and/or complications.” Esophageal damage secondary to gastroesophageal reflux can include reflux esophagitis (inflammatory damage of the esophageal lining called mucosa), and Barrett's esophagus, an abnormal change (metaplasia) in the cells of the distal portion of the esophagus wherein normal squamous epithelium lining of the esophagus is replaced by metaplastic columnar epithelium. Barrett's esophagus has a strong association with esophageal adenocarcinoma, a particularly lethal cancer. Symptoms are considered troublesome if they adversely impact a patient's well-being. Common symptoms, which can compromise the patient's well-being, include heartburn, regurgitation, and chest pain. Atypical symptoms, which can compromise a patient's well-being, include chronic cough, chronic throat clearing, hoarseness, and respiratory disorders, such as asthma and recurrent pneumonia.
Gastroesophageal reflux is characterized by bolus movements progressing retrograde from the stomach to the esophagus, which can be detected and monitored with commercially available multichannel intraluminal impedance (MU) and acid detecting probes pH inserted through the nose or mouth into the esophagus, such as MU equipment manufactured by Sandhill Scientific, Inc., of Highlands Ranch, Colo., USA. Reflux esophagitis and Barrett's esophagus can be detected by endoscopic visual observation and biopsies analyzed by electron microscopy. U.S. Pat. No. 7,818,155, issued to Stuebe et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, teaches detecting reflux and bolus transit in the esophagus with MU equipment and that such detection is enhanced by using a different (lower) impedance baseline in the signal processing for patients with diseased esophageal tissue than for more healthy patients.
The foregoing examples of related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive, and they do not imply any limitations on the inventions described herein. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.